DRAGON
by curry4breakfast
Summary: A new life, the old one left far behind him. A fresh start, on the other side of the world. San Francisco. With Jack gone, Alex is now living with the Pleasures and trying hard to let go of the painful memories. Although he's left all the problems of MI6 and spies and crime and espionage, Alex has to face new ones; things are going to get ugly, and it is not going to be easy...
1. The Pleasures

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! **

**WARNING: MAY INCLUDE VIOLENCE AND LANGUAGE, BUT NOT JUST YET :D**

Startled, Alex awoke.

As he opened his eyes, his vision blurred and it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the light. He was sat in a plane, which, he figured out, was about to land at any moment. Alex cautiously surveyed his surroundings. All the passengers were strapped into their seats, wearing seatbelts, and the flight attendants were assisting people and casually walking by. Nothing looked suspicious. He turned his head carefully and saw who woke him up: Edward Pleasure.

"Make sure your seatbelt is fastened, Alex!" Edward warned. He nodded and, although he knew he'd already fastened his belt as it had become a habit, he tiredly checked anyways - just to keep Edward satisfied. Alex stretched his legs and arms then arched his back, his head swimming. The last few weeks had been shocking. He replayed the scenes in his head.

Back in Brookland, he had felt a sharp pain and was reminded of the bullet wound in his chest. After that, he caught sight of a man up in the building works who Alex was sure wasn't meant to be there. A split second later, he was quick to dodge a bullet that was fired through the window from the man. Everyone took cover as he helped Tom, who had gotten shot in the arm. He remembered that something didn't seem right then, but he shrugged it off his shoulders as he ran and chased the man, who had led him into a total mess.

After going through the car wash and giving his car a complete makeover, the sniper drove to a helicopter which Alex had attacked once in the air. That lead to another mission which took Alex and Jack to Cairo. He had to infiltrate a school to find out if anything suspicious was going on - but when it came to MI6 missions, nothing was as simple as that. Events which occurred after that came at Alex like a whirlwind, and he didn't want to think about it. He didn't have to. He already knew. Everyone did. Jack was dead, she was gone. The one who stayed by his side, the one who stood up for him, the one who practically raised him - she had died in an explosion. Alex would cry about it, but there were no tears, there was nothing left to live for. He sighed and shook his head, deciding not to think about it anymore. He had a new family now, a family that he was going to live with for real this time - unlike the fake family he had stayed with, with the likes of Belinda Troy and Tom Turner.

Lost in his thoughts, Alex didn't realise the plane had landed and everyone was leaving. He felt like something was bothering him, but Alex stood up then he and Edward picked up their hand luggage and left, an awkward silence creeping in between the two. The silence remained as they went through security and picked up the remaining of their luggage. Edward cleared his throat. "Sabina and Liz will be picking us up. We seemed to have landed quite early so it may take a while for them to arrive; the traffic is crazy and that doesn't help the situation in any way." He chuckled. Alex politely smiled. "Would you like something to eat, or drink? It does seem quite chilly today, despite it being April! How about a nice, warm coffee?" Alex nodded in agreement.

"Yes, thanks." He said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as he could, having not spoken for the whole flight. Edward grinned and lead the way to one of the many busy shops. He walked into one of the quieter ones, which were still loud but much better than the others.

Edward ordered the drinks and gestured for Alex to go and sit at one of the tables at the back. They both took their seats. Just when Alex thought another awkward silence would slip in, Edward spoke.

"Would you like anything else, to eat? Or drink, perhaps?" He asked.

"No, thank you - coffee will be enough." Alex responded quietly, something seemed to be bothering him but he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

"Are you okay, Alex?" Edward said, concerned. He, too, noticed that something to be bothering Alex - and he was curious to find out what. Alex nodded, as though there was nothing wrong. "If you ever want to talk, always remember that I'll be here." Expecting an answer, Edward sighed disappointedly when Alex nodded once again, but he decided not to push Alex any further as he already knew the basics: MI6 had blackmailed Alex into doing missions, which were really dangerous and risky; they had hurt him and he'd lost Jack in his last mission, which he was sure must have scarred him for life. He decided that he didn't want to force Alex for answers, when the time was right, and when Alex was comfortable enough to say, he would speak up.

Lost in his own thoughts, Alex wondered what it was that was bugging him. He felt his bullet wound twinge and squeezed his eyes shut as he breathed through the pain. He burst his eyes open as he looked around, worry and terror filling him in. He remembered his wound twinge in class, then he found the sniper - he thought he would find another, coming to avenge the loss of Scorpia, perhaps even someone else, but everything looked fine. He tried to think of how long this mysterious thought had been bothering him. It was in the plane! Before he stood up-

"Here's your coffee drinks!" A waitress announced cheerfully, in an American accent, walking up to the table and setting two warm drinks down which were served in bright white cups that lay on a wooden tray. "Enjoy!" She smiled at Alex as she walked away, and he immediately blushed. The two men quietly drank their coffees. Alex didn't like the silence that was slowly descending upon the two, so decided to start a conversation.

"What time is it?" Alex asked. He frowned at the way he decided to kick the conversation off, but let it go. Edward, slightly shocked at how suddenly Alex spoke, held up his arm and shook off his sleeve which revealed an expensive Rolex watch.

"10:15. Liz and Sab expected us to arrive at 10:21 so they won't be too long." He looked at Alex, who seemed satisfied with his answer. Edward decided to push the conversation on. "It would be evening in England right now, you're not tired are you?" Alex smiled.

"No, I slept for a bit during the flight."

"A bit..." Edward trailed off. He smirked and the two laughed. It was the first laugh they'd shared and it made the atmosphere between them a lot more bearable.

Both finished their coffees and stood up, then walked outside, waiting for Liz and Sab.

"So..." Alex unwarily began, quickly thinking of something to say. "What have you been up to lately, Edward?"

Edward smiled, happy that the boy was beginning to talk. He almost regretted the decision of taking Alex in when he hadn't said a word during the flight.

"I've been writing about another person." He said. "Nikolei Drevin." Alex's heart skipped a beat "An interesting man, you might have heard of him; he died very recently, a few months back. Well, I found out some shocking news while he was alive and decided to continue writing even after he died." Edward didn't miss the slight flinch Alex gave when he mentioned the business man's name. Alex noticed Edward was watching him and didn't know what to say.

"Um... I already know... About Nikolei Drevin, that is." Confused, Edward frowned but it suddenly clicked in his mind and all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

"You were involved in this, weren't you?" Edward said, his voice dry. Alex looked away, the movement speaking for itself. "Look Alex, I've said this before but I don't know much about what happened and, to be honest, I don't really want to. MI6, they've put you through a lot. I've heard a few whispers from the CIA but not much has been revealed. A lot of things are classified. All I want to do now is to get you away from all that stuff. You've been put through too much and it's hurt you." Alex turned back and Edward looked into his eyes. "I don't want to see that happening again." Alex nodded, agreeing. He felt uncomfortable, talking about MI6 and his previous life. He didn't want to, it brought back memories... Painful memories.

Just when things were about to get more awkward than they already were, a Peugeot 2008 Crossover pulled up in front of them; it was a beauty. Alex held his breath as he examined the car. The colour was a rich shade of silver, palladium, and the lights at the back glowed red. Although it was quite old, it was still attractive to look at. The split second the car came to a halt, an excited girl jumped out and ran to Alex, arms open wide.

"I've missed you!" Sabina cried, grasping Alex in a tight hug. Alex laughed, wrapping his arms around her.

"Missed you too, Sab!" Alex responded, cheerfully. He broke free of the hug as Liz got out of the car and smiled, his mood lightening up after seeing Sabina.

Liz approached the three, waving at Alex and Edward.

"Alex! Long time no see!" Liz greeted Alex.

"Hey, Liz," Alex greeted in response, "it's good to see you."

"No, it's good to see YOU!" Liz laughed as she pulled Alex into a one armed hug. Edward smirked.

"Let's go home, shall we? Alex and I are in need of some rest after that tiring flight!" He laughed and they all took the suitcases into the car and sat inside; Alex and Sab at the back, Liz driving and Edward next to her.

"Does anyone want music?" Liz asked, loudly, starting up the car.

"Yes!" Sabina desperately shouted. Liz and Edward groaned when she began singing a song unknown to Alex.

"What would you like to listen to?" Edward asked Alex, hoping to listen to anything but Sabina's choice of music.

"I don't mind." Alex grinned.

The rest of the car drive home was spent listening to the album of an American band Alex had never heard of, with Sabina singing along to it.

An hour later, they reached home. Everyone got out of the car, worn out from the long drive which was mainly spent stuck in traffic. Even Sabina exhausted herself out and stopped singing. They went into the house, a staircase stood on the left and a hallway to the right. Going straight would lead to the kitchen and dining room, and there were two rights, the first leading to a toilet and the second to the living room.

"You'll be staying in your room you stayed in last time." Sabina informed Alex. He nodded and took his things to his room, which was upstairs, the first left - where he stayed whilst visiting before his mission with Desmond McCain. Going straight, after the stairs, would lead to Sabina's room and the room to the right of hers was her parents, and opposite their room was another set of staircases, leading to the third floor. Opposite Alex's was a bathroom, but he wouldn't need that as he had an en suite bedroom.

Opening the door to his room, Alex set his belongings on his bed. The room was nice. It had a bedside tables, on the right side of his bed, which was covered in blue bed sheets, pillows and a duvet. To the left of the door was another door to the bathroom and ahead of that was a wardrobe, on the left side of the bed. On the right side, next to the bedside table, was a window letting in a bright ray of sunshine in. Ahead of the bed, and to the right of the door, was a desk Alex could work at, which had a brand new computer on it. Alex considered. The Pleasures were very caring, this was originally a guests bedroom yet still it was looking impressive and made you feel like home. Focusing on what he was doing again, he looked back at his luggage. He didn't bring much along with him; there wasn't much to bring, so he barely had anything. The few clothes he had were thrown into the wardrobe and the rest of his things stayed in his bag which he slid under the bed.

Quickly, Alex had a shower and got some new clothes out. He wore Levi jeans with a short sleeved Hollister t-shirt. Feeling refreshed he went downstairs and walked into the dining hall. From there, he had a nice view of the garden, looking through all the glass doors on the far wall. He opened a door to the kitchen, where lunch was getting ready. There were more glass doors on the far end to see into the garden. It brightened up the kitchen and made it look very nice. Alex smiled.

"Do you need any help, Liz?" Alex asked. Liz turned round, surprised, only just realising Alex was there.

"No, thank you, Alex! You go relax in the living room with Sab and Ed and I'll call you when lunch is ready." She said, reassuringly.

"Okay, cool." Alex smiled, and headed to the living room.

"Hey, Alex!" Sabina said, as Alex walked into the living room. There were sofas everywhere but Edward sat in a wooden chair, reading a book that was grasped tightly in the hands of the journalist. The TV was on and Sabina seemed to be watching the news.

"News?" Alex frowned, raising an eyebrow. Sabina laughed.

"I'm not watching it. There's nothing good on so I'm just surfing channels." She gestured to a seat next to her, on the sofa she was sitting on. "Sit down." Alex sat. "What do you want to watch?" She asked, curiously. Alex shrugged.

"I don't think I'm familiar with any of these shows." He said, his eyes scanning the different options displayed on the screen. Sabina laughed.

"I'll find a film to watch." She said and found a DVD then inserted it into the DVD player which was connected to the TV.

As the film began, Alex lost interest. He didn't feel like watching anything. Something seemed to be bothering him and he couldn't pin it down. Replaying the events of that day, Alex considered. He was in the plane and he'd just woken up. Everything seemed fine in the plane, at the time, so what was bugging him? He thought carefully. He was thinking of the last few months, Brookland, Tom, the sniper -

The sniper! It clicked. The sniper was what seemed to be bothering him but what about the sniper? The sniper was shooting at him, he was close but he missed. He remembered that he'd memorised the registration numbers on the car and the helicopter, which the sniper used to escape, and he'd reported them to Jones and Blunt but the sniper was never heard from again. The helicopter he supposedly died in crashed into the Thames but Alex didn't recall any remains being found. He suspiciously thought about what could've happened but gave up. There was no point now, even if he did find the answers he was looking for it wouldn't get him anywhere. His previous life, filled with crime, spies and espionage, was all over now.

Alex tried focusing on the film, but his mind drifted away in boredom. It seemed as though Sabina was also regretting her choice of film and Alex smirked at the thought of that. The 50" TV screen was filled with dogs chasing an unfamiliar man, who Alex had no idea where he came from.

Finally, like an angel calling from the Heavens, Liz's voice called everyone for lunch. Sabina and Alex stretched as Edward marked a page in his book and closed it.

"Do you want to finish the movie later?" Sabina asked, silently pleading that Alex would say no.

"Up to you." Alex responded, already certain of what Sabina would say.

"I'd rather not." She grumbled, turning the TV off and standing up then made her way to the dining room, with Alex and Edward following closely behind.

On the dining table, lunch was served. Four plates of rice and curry filled the noses of those who had just walked in. On either side of each plate, was a knife and fork - reflecting of the gleaming lights in the room. Crystal glasses with rich designs stood grandly next to them, and they were filled to the top with ice cold coke.

"Well, take a seat everyone! The food isn't going to eat itself!" Liz cheerfully said and took her seat. Sabina sat opposite her mother, whilst Alex took his seat next to Sabina and Liz, Edward opposite him.

They all began eating and Sabina filled everyone in on the latest news on what was happening in school. Half of the things she was saying wasn't making any sense to Alex, she was going on about what seemed to be her friends and teachers.

"You'll be starting school soon, Alex." Edward interrupted Sabina. She glared at her dad as he grinned at her.

"Yes, you'll be going to the same school as Sabina." Liz said. Alex nodded.

"When will we start?" He asked.

"Next week - that's when the school reopens after the break." Edward answered. Sabina curiously examined Alex.

"You're not nervous, are you?" She asked, almost cheekily.

"I'm not nervous." Alex responded, annoyed. He wasn't. Nor was he scared or worried or anything like that. In fact he was curious, curious to see how it would work out. After all this would be an American school, with American accents, and soccer and the rest. He was wondering whether he would fit in or not. Hopefully everything would go well, there was no reason why it shouldn't...

"It'll be fine, Alex." Liz said, reassuringly, as if he was nervous - even though he clearly said he wasn't. He nodded his head, irritably.

"Shall I help clear the plates away?" Alex said, changing the subject.

"Thank you, Alex." Liz responded, taking her and Edward's plates and cutlery to the kitchen, Alex following with his and Sabina's. Edward and Sabina followed shortly after, with two glasses each, and they all helped Liz tidy and wash up.

Later that day, the Pleasures and Alex were going for a walk. Liz had suggested it and Edward had agreed, saying it was a good chance to get fresh air and a bit of exercise. Although Alex wasn't too keen on the idea, as he was hoping to rest after lunch and perhaps get in touch with Tom, he didn't object. Neither did Sabina, however she did moan about it.

It was really warm and much more brighter to how it was when he'd bought the coffee with Edward, Alex thought. There were more people out, and some were even walking their dogs and taking their kids out. The roads, Alex noticed were much wider than those in London and the buildings were way taller. He was beginning to like the idea of living in San Francisco. The city was a beautiful place. He'd been here before and visited loads of places. It can't be that bad, he thought.

"Ice-cream, anyone?" Edward asked, gesturing to a nearby ice-cream bar.

"I do!" Liz said.

"And me!" Sabina shrieked.

"What about you, Alex?" Edward asked. Alex nodded his head.

"Yes, thanks." Edward smiled. He turned to the girls.

"Chocolate?" They nodded their heads, eagerly, looking like desperate puppies. "Would you like chocolate too?" Edward asked Alex. He nodded politely. "Okay, cool. I'll go and buy the ice-creams, you lot can wait out here." He said, walking off. Liz's phone rang and she excused herself and she went to take the call, leaving the two teens alone.

"So Alex!" Sabina said, "are you enjoying America, so far? If you have any questions you can ask me!" He smiled.

"What's the name of the school that we'll be going to?" He said, the first question that popped into his mind.

"Ashton High." She responded, surprised that he did ask a question but at the same time slightly displeased that he had chosen a rather dull question. There was a topic she'd been dying to discuss since she found out he'd been coming and decided that it was a good time to talk about it, get it done and get it over with.

"Erm, Alex..." Alex looked at Sabina, patiently waiting for her to say what was on her mind. "You see how you've moved in with us," He nodded. "and Dad's basically adopted you," he nodded again, unsure of where she was going with this, "we're technically siblings now." Alex blinked. What?! He'd never thought about that! And now that he considered it, Sabina was right. He _was _technically her brother now.

"Oh.." He responded, speechless, "what does that mean..?" He looked at Sabina, waiting for her to respond and the bite of her lip said everything for itself. "You think we should break up?" He asked, emotionless.

"No!" She said, angry. "No..." She repeated, calmly this time. "I don't know. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I want to, but we're siblings and it doesn't seem right, you know?" Alex nodded in understanding.

"Yeah..." he said, "I get it. Don't worry. But hey, look on the bright side - at least we're with each other and not on either side of the world anymore." He laughed, dryly, trying to brighten up the situation. Sabina smiled.

"True." She said, and chuckled lightly, herself, just as her mother came walking towards the two.

"That was the school on the phone." She announced to the two teens. "We've just sorted out small bits and pieces, phone number, address, etc. You'll be starting school at Ashton High next week! How do you feel?" Alex considered.

"I'm feeling really excited." Alex said, sounding enthusiastic - more than he really was. "I'm also quite curious, to see how it turns out, because I doubt it'll be the same as Brookland." He added, speaking more truthfully.

"Ashton isn't too different to England!" Sabina said. "It's just a few things that are different, like the accents." Alex laughed and turned around to see Edward walking towards them, holding two chocolate ice-creams in either hand. Edward handed Alex two ice-creams, one of which Alex gave to Sabina, whilst Liz took hers from Edward. They all ate their ice-creams and walked home.

Once the Pleasures and Alex reached home, the ice-creams had been finished off and they entered the house. Alex hopped up the stairs and took a quick shower, then sat on his bed and decided to have a small nap before dinner. He hadn't done much but still felt like having a rest. Suddenly, a thought struck him and he leaped of the bed and dived under it. He scrambled for his bag and snatched his phone out of it. Turning his phone on he saw that his iPhone's lock screen was filled with messages and missed calls - the one's at the top, most recent, from Tom. He felt guilt rush him, he hadn't spoke to the boy since he'd ran from the school, chasing the sniper. Snapping up back to reality Alex saw his phone turn blank. He frowned. He tried turning it on again, spastically clicking the lock screen button and home screen button but no difference was made. His hand starting shaking. All his contacts, everyone from England, his only memories of his old life, Brookland, everything was saved in his phone - it couldn't stop working now! After a moment's of panicking he was rewarded with his phone displaying a dead battery, asking to plug in a charger. Alex sighed in relief and searched his bag for a charger. Once he found it, he stood up and kicked the bag back under the bed, charger in hand. He jumped onto his bed and plugged his charger into a socket which was above his bedside table.

The waiting of five minutes in total isolation was finally over when Alex's phone turned back on. He was relieved that his phone connected to the open Wi-Fi that the Pleasures had. He opened his 'Whatsapp' app and entered the Brookland group that Tom created a while back. He considered what lie he should make up. After a minute's consideration he texted:

**'Hey guys, sorry for having kept you worried and leaving Brookland without any notice. Jack had some family problems in America and took me there with her. All is good and I'm okay, but her dad is ill and she needs to stay to look after him so I'm staying with her. I'll be starting school here as well so I probably won't be seeing any of you any time soon. Hopefully I'll come round to visit but I can't be too sure.'**

Alex read the text over and over again. It seemed convincing so it'd do. His heart seemed to skip a beat as he clicked send. He sighed and read the texts he'd received over the long period of time he hadn't checked his phone. He remembered how he'd almost destroyed it in the explosion on The House of Gold in Cairo, where it had been drowned with water. Fortunately, he'd managed to get it repaired in England - just before he made his way to America with Edward.

There were an uncountable amount of texts from Tom, all of them saying basically the same thing: text back because he was worried. Alex decided to briefly tell him what _really _happened:

**'Sorry for not replying, Tom. MI6 sent me to Cairo, with Jack tagged along, to keep me safely away from England, but I was almost killed and Jack, unfortunately, didn't make it out alive. Sabina and her parents adopted me and I'm living with them in San Francisco.'**

Alex's heart sank when he mentioned Jack. It was a painful memory. He tried not to think about her as he pressed send on his phone. He didn't feel like sleeping anymore, so he leaned over his bed to pull out the headphones from his bag and he stuck them into his phone. He didn't fall asleep, he couldn't after he'd thought about Jack. So he just closed his eyes and listened to loud tunes on his phone...

Just when he thought he'd dozed off, something vibrated and Alex was alert and awake. He'd thrown his phone and headphones on the bed and jumped out, positioned in a fighting stance - with his arms out and feet apart. He heard the vibration again, and turned his head to his bed where he saw his phone lighting up. He'd received a message, and more were coming through. Alex ran a hand through his hair and over his face. After all his missions, he'd always been alert and protective and cautious, scared that someone would attack - he was still trying to get used to the fact that everything to do with MI6 was all behind him.

Frowning at the time, he wondered why it had taken everyone so long to reply. Then he remembered that he must've been texting at a late time for what it would've been in England, and it must've been about 6 'o' clock - the time everyone would be waking up to get ready for school, on a Friday. In America, San Francisco, it was Sabina's holiday therefore she was still at home. He unlocked his phone to see who had texted back, early in the England morning. He first checked his private conversations, on Whatsapp, where Tom had said how glad he was to know that he was still alive. Alex then checked the Whatsapp group, where he'd gotten texts from James and some of his old mates, those of which he used to hang out with while he was still normal. Looking at the time, Alex saw it would be dinner soon so announced on the group that he was going to eat dinner. He locked his phone and left it to charge on his bedside table.

Surprisingly happily, Alex went downstairs to see Liz, Edward and Sabina in the living room. Edward was reading that book of his whereas his wife was more up-to-date with society and was reading off of her kindle. Sabina seemed to be in her own world on her phone.

"Hey, Alex!" Sabina greeted him, as he walked in and took a seat next to her before she could offer one. "Dinner will be here soon, we ordered pizza."

"Cool!" Alex said, cheerfully. It seemed that talking to his old friends had put him in a brighter mood. He just wished that he could see them again. "How long will it take?"

"A few minutes, maximum. Mum ordered while you were upstairs, so it shouldn't take too long." Alex nodded. "Do you want to watch something? There's not really anything else to do, at the moment." She smiled.

"Okay," Alex agreed, "as long as it's not that movie we watched earlier!" Sabina laughed at that and turned on the TV. They watched until, exactly 8 minutes later, the pizza arrived. Liz got up and went to get the pizza. She returned with a warm cardboard box along with four plates for the four of them.

"Extra cheesy! Just how we like it, and it's your favourite, Alex!" She said. Alex laughed, silently appreciating that she remembered. They exchanged jokes as they ate, and laughed a lot.

When the last of the pizza was finished off, Sabina groaned in appreciation, her stomach full.

"I'm exhausted! I'm going to bed!" She announced.

"But you've hardly done anything!" Liz laughed. Sabina huffed at that.

"I'm tired, too." Alex said.

"Great! We have _two._" Liz joked. Alex chuckled and followed Sabina out of the room, and upstairs.

"Good night, Alex." She said, as she opened the door to her room.

"Night, Sab." He replied, entering his own. He sighed as he thought about how his first day in America had been. Not too bad, he considered. It could've been worse - much worse. He brushed his teeth, with a toothbrush that had been left in the bathroom for him, and decided to go to sleep - as he hadn't gotten the nap he was wishing for earlier. Once he'd rinsed his mouth, Alex tucked into bed and fell fast asleep.

**Sorry for the rather boring chapter; things will get exciting soon, I've got it ALL planned out :)) I've decided I'll be posting one chapter a week, as they're going to be quite long. I might post more if it's short but I can't guarantee anything just yet! **


	2. Disagreements

**DISCLAMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!**

**WARNING: MAY CONTAIN STRONG LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE**

**Thanks for those who reviewed XD**

**Enjoy :)) **

It was 9:30am on a Friday morning and Alex had already showered. He glanced outside, through the curtains and the window and saw tall buildings surrounding the landscape. It was a different view for the view from his old bedroom, which was London roads. The view from his old bedroom. In Chelsea. Where he lived with Jack. Alex sighed and tore his mind away from the memories. It was too much to think about. He opened his window which allowed and blast of cool air to smother his face and fill his room in.

Alex made his bed as he thought about the previous day which, he considered, hadn't been too bad. Once his bed was made, Alex hopped onto it, making sure not to mess it up, and checked his phone which, he'd forgotten, had been left on charge overnight. The phone seemed fine but, as he reached to flick the socket's switch off, the plug was burning hot. He'd have to be careful not to do that again. Alex smirked to himself; it was nice to be worrying about little problems now - rather than the life and death situations he was always put into during MI6 missions.

He turned his iPhone on to see hundreds of Whatsapp notifications. He frowned and opened the app to see loads of messages, on the Brookland group chat. They all consisted of:

'What was today's homework?' to 'Did you see the match last night?!'

Normal things. A normal life. Alex was looking forward to it, but the only thing was that he was in America, not England. He would've preferred it back in London, where he'd grown up, with his old friends, with Tom. He shook his head and sent a text on the chat.

**"Hey guys, just woke up"**

Almost immediately, Alex was bombarded with replies.

**"YO, ALEX!" **James said first.

**"Alex! How's America?" **Said a girl called Chloe, who used to be in his form. There were further texts from Tom, others in his old form, and people who he hardly knew or remembered. It was amusing to see how many people were texting from England on a Friday evening. With the eight hour difference between the two, it was hard to remember the day between the different time zones.

After filling everyone in on how everything was, or at least lying about most of it, Alex went downstairs on an empty tummy, his stomach rumbling. He passed Sabina's room which was quiet, she must have been sleeping. Quietly, Alex tip toed his way down the steps - hoping not to awake anyone. As he got to the bottom of the steps, he was about to go to the kitchen when he saw the mail. There were three letters which had been pushed through the tiny slit in the door. Alex picked it up and was going to leave it on the hallway table, opposite the stairs, when something caught his eye - the return address on the second letter, which was sandwiched between the top letter (about a bill) and the bottom letter (something to do with a bank). He cautiously removed it and read:

**Kingston Green Hospital**

**Mental Health Facility **

**San Francisco **

**X0X X0X**

Alex's eyebrows creased inwards as he frowned, suspiciously. He hadn't known Sabina, Edward or Liz to have any mental problems; they'd always seemed perfectly fine! Curiously, not wanting to tear open the letter, Alex peeked into the envelope through the clear plastic which displayed the address. He could see a few words, only the subject and a bit of the first line. It read:

**'RE: NEW MEMBERSHIP FOR PSYCHOLOGIST APPOINTMENTS** ... **You have recently**... **On suspicion**... **PTSD**...'

PTSD?! That meant post-traumatic stress disorder - an anxiety disorder caused after stressful or frightening events. He'd heard about this in Brookland, his history teacher once explained it to the class. He'd said that brave soldiers back in the last World War were diagnosed with it. Trying to remember everything else he said, Alex recalled some of the facts. The side- effects of it were things like unhealthy amounts of sleep, nightmares, flashbacks and trying to avoid things that remind you of the terrible event. It might be for Edward, Alex thought to himself - after all, he had gotten blown up by a bomb on holiday and he'd narrowly made it out alive. But it could be for Liz; that same incident, with the bomb, could have stressed her out and given her PTSD. Come to think of it, it might be for Sabina, she'd witnessed all of _that_ AND been kidnapped to face the evil Damian Cray who later shot Yassen, in front of Sabina, and died himself after falling out of Air Force One. That must've scarred her. She even told him, before the previous new year, the night they fell into the lake, that the memory always haunted her. Something didn't seem right, though... Alex looked back at the subject and saw that it said 'new membership'. It didn't make any sense.

Suddenly, Alex realised that the letter had arrived at the house shortly after he did. Could it really be just a coincidence? The puzzle pieces all fell into place and it clicked in his mind. The Pleasures had booked psychology appointments for him. That's why it said 'new membership'. There was always the possibility that it was for Sabina and she'd been reminded of the nasty memories once she saw Alex again, which had given her PTSD, but Alex very much doubted it. There were so many reasons why that can't have been the truth. First, if it had been because she'd seen him yesterday, then how did the letter arrive so soon? And it can't have been because she'd seen him as Sabina and Alex met countless times before and she'd been fine then, so there would be no reason to get a 'new membership' now.

Alex felt anger and fury build up inside him. There was no other option and it certainly wasn't for Ed, Sab or Liz. The Pleasures had booked psychologist appointments for _him_! What was the point of that?! And what else had the letter said... Alex peeked through the plastic again, desperately trying to read the first line.

**"...On suspicion of having PTSD." **

That made Alex angrier. He didn't have PTSD! And what would make the Pleasures suspicious of that, anway! Alex was raging. He didn't need to see a psychologist! Alex grasped the letters tightly; the very thought of it made him want to break down and scream and throw a tantrum. This shouldn't be this way. He didn't even know about it! He shut his eyes and breathed then opened them again.

He didn't even know about it... Why had the Pleasures hidden it from him? There was no reason for that, he'd find out eventually. Alex considered the possibilities. They could take him for an appointment on the last minute so there'd be no point in resisting but that would be stupid. It wouldn't stop him from refusing to go to the next. Maybe they just haven't gotten round to telling him yet, he'd only been here a day after all. Yeah, that seemed to be the likeliest of possibilities. But it did seem a tad unfair that they'd arranged everything for him _without_ his approval. Alex slowly put the papers together, in the same order he found them, and placed it on the hallway table, facedown - so it would seem that he hadn't seen anything, i.e. the return address of the second letter.

He made his way to the kitchen and made himself a bowl of cereal. It was simple and he already knew where everything was kept, remembering from the last time he'd been here. While taking the milk and pouring it, Alex decided he'd pretend he didn't know anything about what the Pleasures had planned for him. They'd ask how he knew and it would lead to all sorts of problems such as them thinking of him as a nosy person - Alex didn't want that. They were doing everything they were doing with good intentions. Like in the first place, when Edward adopted him. Although he didn't need it, the Pleasures probably thought the appointments would help him.

That's when Alex considered the matter in further detail. Why did they think it would help him? He didn't _need_ any help. He was _fine_. He put the milk away and got a spoon and poured some cereal from a box. As he put the box away, he took his bowl of cereal to the dining table and ate in silence. Alex thought. Why would the Pleasures think he needed help? The loss of his parents? He hadn't even known them. The loss of Ian? They were hardly even close, him being away on missions and everything. The loss of Jack? That brought pain every time he thought of it. Talking about it wouldn't help make the pain go away! Annoyed, Alex ate his cereal in silence.

Sitting down, flicking through random American programmes on the TV. He'd heard doors open and close and he heard the shower turn on upstairs. That meant that someone, maybe two or all three, had woken up and, sooner or later, someone would be downstairs. Alex practiced in his head how he would react when one of the Pleasures spoke to him. Still irritated of the whole psychologist situation, Alex let the thought slip and told himself that he'd talk about it to Edward or Liz when they raised the issue. There was no point in practicing - he'd most likely forget anyway.

About five minutes later, Alex heard a door open and shut. Then someone walked not too far, their footsteps heavy, and they opened another door. He heard slight movement, then whoever it was came down the stairs slowly, leaving whichever door they'd entered open. A few seconds later, Alex glanced out the living room to see Liz carrying, what seemed to be, everybody's laundry.

"Good morning, Alex! You're up early!" She said, despite it being quarter to ten.

"Good morning, Liz." Alex responded.

"Did you pick up the mail when you came down?" She asked, weakly gesturing at the hallway table with her arms full of clothes.

"Yeah, I came down to make myself breakfast when I slipped on it." Alex said, making it believable by pointing to his socks. "I put it on the table so no one else would slip on it." Alex smiled.

"Thanks, Alex."

"No problem. Do you need help with that?" Alex asked.

"It's fine, but thank you Alex." She smiled. "Edward and Liz will be down soon so you won't have to stay alone too long." Alex nodded as she walked away. He frowned. Why was she so concerned about him? Did she genuinely say he wouldn't have to stay alone too long or did she think he felt _lonely_? That's rubbish! Why were the Pleasures so concerned about him! He was _fine_! There was _nothing_ wrong with him. He didn't need someone to talk to, he didn't need someone to not make him feel lonely, he didn't have to share his feelings about the losses in his life, and he didn't need a psychologist! Everything was fine and he didn't need help. It's not like Alex wanted to disagree with everything the Pleasures said or thought or wanted to do, they were just _wrong._ Completely, utterly and obviously _wrong. _

Interrupting his thoughts, Alex heard Sabina come downstairs with Edward.

"Hey, Alex!" Sabina said cheerfully. Alex politely smile back at her.

"Good morning, Alex." Edward said gruffly, still tired. Liz called Sabina and she quickly excused herself and ran to the kitchen. Edward took a seat in his wooden rocking chair and, a few seconds later, Sabina returned with a cup of tea, for Edward, in one hand and an apple, for herself, in the other. She handed the cup to her father, who placed it in the cup holder on the right handle of his chair. She hopped onto the sofa and took a bite into her apple.

"Are you watching anything?" She asked. Alex shook his head and Sabina laughed in response. She took another bite as Alex handed her the TV remote and she changed the channel to Disney.

Alex's mind drifted away into his land of thoughts. Could Sabina be part of the big secret her parents were keeping, about sending him to a psychologist and not telling him about it? She might know, but he had no proof, evidence or knowledge of that. For all he knew, they could be keeping it from her too! He decided to let time reveal everything itself. They'd have to break the news sooner or later, preferably sooner, so Alex let the thought go.

Liz walked in with a cup of tea and took a seat on one of the other sofas.

"Do you want anything to eat or drink, Alex?" She asked. He shook his head.

"No, thanks; I had breakfast when I came down." He responded. Liz nodded, satisfied. He wondered when she would break the news to him. Surely she'd seen the letter already, but Edward hadn't. She was probably waiting to inform him of it, in private, so he could help let Alex in on what they'd been keeping from him.

As if thinking the same thing, Liz got up and left the living room - returning a few seconds later with the three envelopes Alex had picked up early that morning.

"We've received mail, Ed." Liz cautiously said, handing the letters, unopened, to Edward. "Bills and... stuff." She said, glancing at Sabina. Alex pretended he hadn't noticed anything with his eyes glued to the television screen. He'd caught the glance, with the corner of his eye, and he'd also caught Sabina's reaction - a recognition of understanding, silently telling her mother she understood what it was. It told him everything he needed to know: Sabina knew.

Even if they were trying to help him, Alex felt betrayed that the Pleasures were keeping this from him. Sabina knew, as well, yet she didn't say anything. Maybe everything was planned. Maybe they already rehearsed what they would say to him when they told him about the appointments. He curiously wondered if they'd mention the fact that they were suspicious of him having PTSD.

Alex glimpsed Sabina fidgeting with her hands and biting her lips, her apple abandoned on the table next to her - the white flesh beginning to rot brown and the red skin beginning to wrinkle and softly close in. She always done that when she was nervous, bite her lips and fidget. Why would she be nervous? Perhaps he was right, about his earlier thoughts. Maybe everything was planned and she knew what she'd come up against, what she was about to face. Alex angry, protesting, reluctant to attend to the appointments as her parents wanted him to.

Interrupted from his thoughts, Alex heard Liz breath in heavily, and out again. He looked up, from the TV screen, and saw that Edward had ripped open the second letter and was reading through it, nodding as his eyes scanned the page. He looked up and Alex turned away, eyes back on the screen, as though he hadn't been watching Edward at all.

Alex's instincts said that it was time. Clearing his throat, Edward spoke.

"Alex...?" Alex slowly turned to Edward, doing his best not to reveal the fact he'd been expecting that.

"How are you feeling?" Edward hesitated, stumbling over his words, unsure of exactly what he should say.

"Fine." Alex said.

"There's something we need to tell you, Alex." Liz said. He nodded, fury slowly building up inside of him. He glimpsed Sabina, again. She was biting into her lips furiously, so deep he thought it would dig into her skull.

"After all you've been through - the hurt and pain," Alex frowned as Edward spoke again. "We think you'd need a bit of help, recovering." Ah, Alex remembered. It was all making sense now. It wasn't just the loss of Jack that the Pleasures had decided to book him appointments. He remembered. Edward had told him, outside the airport and the shops. Edward had said to Alex the missions had 'hurt him'. Now Alex thought about it, he probably meant more than physical pain, mental pain too. That shouldn't make Edward suspicious that Alex had PTSD! But now everything was arranged and Edward was about to tell him.

"We've booked you appointments to see a psychologist, just to help you out and make sure you're okay and well." Edward announced slowly.

"What for?" Alex blurted out. "I don't need help!"

"But just in case, Alex..." Liz said softly.

"I'm fine." Alex growled. "I. don't. need. help." Sabina looked away, she was biting into her nails now.

"Alex, you shouldn't be disagreeing with us. We just want to make sure you're okay." Edward said sternly.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Alex asked angrily, knowing perfectly what the answer was already, but just wanting to see if Edward would admit it, as he was being put to the spot now.

"Because..." He began, receiving a disapproving look from Liz.

" Because we think you might have PTSD." Liz sighed, finishing of Edward's sentence, revealing the truth. The fury was building up inside Alex's chest, and burning everything inside. They actually thought he had PTSD. And it made him angrier when they actually admitted it, in his face. How could they do this to him?!

"I'm fine. I don't need help!" He repeated, standing up now.

"Alex." Edward said in a venomous low voice which suddenly made the whole room deadly silent. Even Alex backed down and slowly took his seat again. "We just want to make sure you're okay. We're not trying to hurt you! We want to help you, but we can't do that if you try to disagree with the things we say. Now, no buts, no arguments, no nothing." Alex nodded, his head down and eyes closed, still angry and fuming after his outburst.

He didn't like arguing with Edward, but everything was totally unnecessary! Yes, he'd been on missions that had hurt him physically. So what? Everyone gets hurt! The only tragic thing was that he'd abandoned his friends back in England. And he'd lost Jack... but loads of people die! Do all their friends suddenly get PTSD for that too?! No! If only Edward would understand. But he didn't. That was the only piss-taking thing. And why? Because he was only a kid. That's probably why. And he hated that. Just because he was young, doesn't mean he was wrong. How many times was Alex right and no one believed him because he was just a _kid_?! Like with Blunt, on his Eagle Strike mission, or the airport security when he was with Sarov, in Skeleton Key.

"When will the first appointment be?" Alex asked quietly, his voice dry. He didn't make eye contact, just stared at the floor. Edward answered after a few moments, probably surprised that Alex asked that question.

"Monday, after school." He answered. Alex nodded and stood up, looking down at his toes.

"I need the toilet." He mumbled, excusing himself from the room. He made his way up the stairs and entered his room, shutting the door behind him.

He lay down on his bed and stuck in some headphones into his ears. He had a headache and he just wanted to relax and get away from all the thoughts and problems that were taking the piss. He turned on some music, and dozed off as it played...

**SO ALEX HAD A BIT OF A TANTRUM XDD**

**Not very exciting but there might be a bit of drama and action soon... ;P**

**Thanks for the reviews :)) **

**Sorry if I got some facts wrong, I know NOTHINGG about psychology and psychologists XD **

**I don't even know the difference between them and psychiatrists :P**

**Got the next chapter planned out, it'll be up soon :D hopefully by Friday **


	3. First Day

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING **

**Sorry for taking long! Been really busy! **

**Enjoy :))**

It was Monday morning and Alex was eating buttered toast for breakfast. At the table sat Liz and Edward, drinking tea, and then there was Sabina, who was peeling an orange. Alex had already showered and had gotten changed for his first day at school, Ashton High. He wasn't nervous, nor was he excited - but he'd get it all over with, anyways, just like how he had to get over the fact that he was being _forced _into seeing a psychologist that he didn't even _need _to see.

Over the weekend, Alex had done various things. To begin with, he'd argued about the psychology appointments and marched off to his room. Returning downstairs soon after, Alex saw Sabina leaving the house and she'd announced she would be out catching up with some school friends. Normal things, Alex thought at the time. Probably something he'd never get to do. Even now, living with normal people in a normal house, Alex still felt out of place. They treated him as though he was fragile and could be broken with a simple tap. They treated him like he was weak and couldn't make his own decisions.

When Sabina left, Alex wondered around. Edward was on the third floor, in his study. Liz was hanging the washing, in the garden. Alex was dying and to do something so he went out to the garden. He nodded at Liz, who smiled at him politely. Alex found an abandoned football at the back of the garden, behind the shed. It was black, with think red stripes lining it all around. There was a white Adidas logo imprinted on the front.

Alex rolled the ball towards him and kicked it up, catching it in the air with his hand. He examined the ball closely. It seemed as though it had hardly been used, there were a few scratches along the red stripes but, other than that, it looked brand new. The ball wasn't flat so he could use it to kick it about. He turned as he saw Liz approaching.

"There's a goal net in the shed, if you want something to shoot at." Liz said, gesturing towards the shed. "All you have to do is assemble it." Alex nodded.

"Thanks." He responded.

As Liz walked away, Alex headed towards the shed. As he walked in, he saw many things crowding majority of the space - but he'd already found what he was looking for. There, on the his right, were three pieces of a goalpost, and hanging over it was a net. He picked the net a post up, and carried it to the garden.

The post was easy to put together. First he connected to right posts to the upper one, then connected the left one. All he had to do now was attach the net, and he did so by hooking it to the post.

The garden was fairly big. There was a decent amount of space to play. He decided he'd keep the post in the middle, placed slightly ahead of the shed at the back of the garden. That way he had the rest of the garden to kick the ball around. Alex dragged the post to the position where he'd decided to put it and began dribbling the ball. He kicked the ball up and managed to do 37 kick ups before the ball flew behind him.

He jogged to the ball and rainbow flicked it over his head; as it flew over his head he ran up ahead just in time to land his foot on it and boot it into the goal and right to the back of the net. For the next half an hour, Alex played, practising skills and tricks. Then Liz called him in, for lunch.

After lunch, Alex went to the garden and disassembled the post and net. He threw the pieces into a corner of the shed, leaving the ball there with it. He made his way upstairs.

The rest of the day slowly went by, and ended. The next day Edward and Liz said they'd take Alex and Sabina out for shopping. Alex was grateful for that, as he hardly had anything to wear, having not brought much from England.

Sabina had explained to Alex that most American schools, including her own, didn't have a uniform and you could wear whatever you wanted. Alex liked the idea of that; he'd always worn a scruffy and dull uniform at Brookland.

With hands full of shopping bags, the Pleasures and Alex soon returned home to relax and cool down. The day passed, with Alex wondering about how school would go, but his mind not forgetting the fact that he'd have to attend to an appointment the very next day.

He was thinking the same thing as he finished the last piece of toast. He took his plate to his kitchen and went upstairs to get his bag. It was pretty much empty at the moment, all he had was a pencil case inside. He'd been informed to go to the office at the beginning of the day (Sabina said she'd take him) so he could collect his timetable and planner.

On his way out of the room, he picked up his phone off his desk. He'd gotten a new number on it, an American one, but on Whatsapp he kept his old number, as he wasn't bothered to text everyone his new number. Not yet, at least.

He went downstairs and saw Sabina, putting on a red pair of Converses. She was wearing a loose top with tight blue jeans. Alex was wearing a plain white t-shirt. Along with it, he wore a black hoodie with a white zip, which was unzipped, hanging open. He also a pair of jeans, which were black. He put on his shoes, which were black Nike Air Forces, and he did up the laces.

"You ready?" Sabina asked. Alex put his phone in his back, zipped it up and swung it over his shoulder. He nodded.

"Yeah." He replied. "I'm ready."

On the way to school, Sabina explained loads of things to Alex, such as the detention system at school and what teachers to be wary of, such as the strict ones.

"What about the grades and stuff?" Alex asked. "Like, is the first grade the same as year 1, in England?" Sabina laughed at Alex's cluelessness.

"In England, you would be in Year 10. I would be in Year 11 [he's 15, she's 16]. Now, here, in America, you're in the 9th grade, and I'm in the tenth. There's no reception here, so it's either pre-school first or straight to Year 1. Except, in America, Year 1 is called Kindergarten." Alex nodded in understanding.

"Oh, right. I get it." He laughed at himself, for not understanding. Aside from his accent, he would've never gotten by as Alex Gardiner, during the Skeleton Key mission. He could've gotten killed, in fact he almost did. He forced himself away from the memories before he could start thinking about Sarov. He'd committed suicide in front of Alex himself. Alex had turned away as the bullet had driven through General Alexei Sarov's brain, but that didn't stop the memories from haunting him.

He'd stopped laughing now. They were walking in silence as they approached the school. It was really big, but that didn't frighten Alex. He'd gotten used to the feelings - in Cairo and back in London when he started at Brookland. There seemed to be hundreds of school kids pouring into the school and Alex felt uncomfortable as he and Sabina joined. He noticed a few people examining him; the new kid, that's what they might've been thinking.

As they entered the school Sabina spoke.

"Let's go to the office first, we need to get you a planner and a timetable." She pointed to the corridor ahead of them and walked to it, leading the way. I'll show you where your first lesson is, but I probably won't see you much, as we're in different years and we've got completely different classes. Don't worry though, I'll try and help whenever I can." They walked down the corridor, Alex storing the routes in his brain - should he ever need it. Ahead of them were heavy doors which lead to the playground, to the right was another corridor. They turned left.

There was another corridor, but they didn't walk down there. Instead, Sabina knocked on a door, which stood on the right of the corridor they didn't walk down. A muffled voice inside said something, which Alex didn't quite catch, and Sabina opened the door. She walked through the door and Alex followed; as they entered the office, Alex shut the door behind him.

Sitting in a comfy chair, by a computer, sat a smiling woman, roughly in her late 30s with blond hair. She wore glasses, squared (more rectangular than square) lined with a thin black frame, which had strings so she could leave them hanging around her neck. She seemed nice but Alex decided not to get into any trouble with her around. She didn't look like a teacher who liked being messed with.

"Sabina Pleasure!" She greeted, in a high pitched voice that Alex immediately found irritating. "How can I help you?" The eyes behind the rectangular framed spectacles darted from Sabina to Alex.

"Who are you?" She asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing, smile disappearing. "Why are you here? What are you going to do to me?!" Her hands slammed down on the desk where her computer sat. "What have you got planned, hooligan!" She shrieked, her long, bony fingers pointing sharply at Alex.

"I'm Alex Rider." Despite this woman being bonkers, he answered her calmly.

"Rider?" She asked questioningly, eyes narrowing even more, finger lowering. Alex, surprised that it was even possible for eyes to narrow that far without closing, just nodded. "Ah! Yes! Alex Rider, you're new, aren't you?!" She said, unusually cheerful now. "Here's your timetable and planner." She said, picking up a small planner and sheet of paper, holding it in the tight grip of her hand as she spoke. "I've kept it ready as I've been expecting you!" She laughed. "But, you see, I hope you understand, I didn't think you were him, or you were you... Basically, I didn't think you were Alex Rider. Terribly sorry! You look more like a... a George. That suits you much better! Anyway, you have maths first, with Mr Humble. It seems as though you've met Sabina, she can take you there. Room 4, down the corridor next to the door of this office. I feel like I'm forgetting something... Oh, yes! I'm sorry George-"

"-Alex."

"I'm Miss O'Shea!" She continued, talking over Alex. Alex nodded. He was slightly freaked out by the way her mood had swung and how joyful she'd become. This woman was so _weird_. She was mad, crazy, and just _weird_. "You can go now! Unless you have any questions?" Without waiting for an answer she said: "Off you go, bye!"

"Miss O'Shea...?" Alex began.

"YES?!" She heaved with an exasperated sigh.

"May I have my timetable and planner?" Alex said. She blinked as he gestured to her hand.

"Oh! Sorry! I forgot to give it to you. Here." She handed it over. "Anything else? No? Excellent. Goodbye!"

Alex opened the door and let Sabina out first, who'd stayed quiet throughout the whole conversation.

"What the _fuck_ was that?" Alex said. Sabina smirked.

"She's like that, it takes a while to get used to, but you will eventually." She responded.

"She was acting like I was a criminal!" Sabina burst into laughter. Alex smiled and put his planner and timetable into his bag, memorising the subjects and rooms he had to attend to for that day. He followed Sabina out and into the playground.

A group of girls ran up to the two, all screaming different things at once and making Alex immediately feel uncomfortable, seeing as he was the odd one out.

"Guys!" Sabina laughed, "Calm down!" At once, all the girls quietened down.

"Who's that?" A girl with curly hair shouted from the back, pointing at Alex. Sabina shifted uncomfortably.

"He's my..." Looking at Alex, but failing to meet his eyes, she continued, "...brother. Dad adopted him last week." Alex could make out all the girls squealing excitedly and sighed, looking away. A boy, around fifteen or sixteen, ran up to them.

"Hey! Who's that, Sab?" He asked, panting - coming from a bunch of guys playing football just ahead.

"This is Alex, my brother. Alex, this is my friend, Aaron." She introduced the two, and Alex nodded at Aaron.

"Do you play soccer?" Aaron said, flashing a smile. Alex almost burst out in laughter; it amused him to hear people saying 'soccer' instead of 'football'. Instead, he politely smiled and nodded - silently wondering how much he knew about him, or if he knew anything at all. "Come with me, you can be on my team!" He seemed friendly enough, and Alex couldn't see any reason why not to, so he followed Aaron to the football pitch where there were eight other kids kicking a football around, roughly the same age as him.

"Yo!" Aaron called out, causing everyone to stop playing and pay attention to what he had to say. "This is Alex, Sabina's brother, he's going to be playing on my team." He said, as everyone nodded and no one objected. "What grade are you in?" He asked curiously, turning to Alex.

"9th." Alex responded, remembering what Sabina had told him about grades.

"Great! I'm in the 10th. Ryan and Jordan will be on our team, they're in the 9th too. Michael is on our team, but he's in the 10th. Everyone else is who we're playing against, we're winning 3-2. Josh and David are in the 9th grade and the rest, Jack, Danny and Theo, are all in the 10th grade. Okay, any questions? No? Awesome! Let's play!"

Ryan and Jordan started off with the ball in between them, in midfield. Jordan passed the ball back to Michael, who was being marked by Jack. Michael managed to get in front of Jack as the ball approached and powerfully back heeled the ball through Jack's legs to where Aaron was standing, in goal.

Aaron booted the ball into the centre of the pitch, as all the players ran back. Alex received the ball; it landed on his chest and he hit it down to his feet and ran. Sprinting away from Jack and rainbow flicking the ball over Josh's head, Alex dashed after the ball. He was closing in on the penalty box now, and Danny and Theo ran up to him, on either side of him. Alex, noticing the small gap the two left in between themselves, kicked the ball through and ran around Danny, on the right. With only the keeper, David, left, Alex performed a 360 degree turn around the approaching goalkeeper with the ball in possession and booted the football into the back of the net.

Dumbfounded, the opposing team stood there, shocked, as Alex's team celebrated.

"4-2!" Aaron announced, running to Alex and patting his back in appreciation.

"That was awesome!" Ryan exclaimed, running up to Alex, his short and spiky light brown hair a mess.

"Yeah! You're really good!" Jordan said, agreeing.

"With those skills, you should go and try out for the soccer team." Michael said.

"Thanks." Alex said, smiling. "I'll consider trying out for the team."

The game continued for another ten minutes before the bell went for school to start. Alex and Michael had each scored a goal, but their team had conceded two late goals resulting in the game's score to finish at 6-4. The group walked together as they entered the school building, Alex walking in front with Ryan, Jordan and Aaron and Michael.

"Good game, Alex." Danny said from behind. Alex looked back, smiling in response.

"Do you want to play again, later?" Theo said.

"Sounds cool." Alex responded, enthusiastically.

"We've got drama, now." Aaron said. Michael groaned.

"Catch up with you later, yeah?" Jack said to Alex.

"Sure." Alex replied. Aaron headed away, down a corridor to the left, with Michael, Jack, Danny and Theo following.

Alex headed to the right, where the office he'd been to earlier was. On the left was the corridor he went down, following Ryan, Jordan, Josh and David. Despite feeling warm after the game, Alex left his hood on. He wasn't bothered to put it into his bag and he wasn't sure if he was allowed to tie it round his waist. Besides, he didn't want to get told off that on his first day, that wouldn't be a very good first impression.

"You've got maths, right?" David said. Alex nodded. Remembering what the crazy Miss O'Shea had said.

"Yeah, maths. Room 4." Alex answered.

"Lucky! We're all in the same class!" David said excitedly, gesturing to Ryan, Jordan and Josh.

"Great!" Josh said. "I have an empty seat next to me in class, you can sit with me." He smiled at Alex. Everyone seemed friendly enough, they were all making things easy for him and that made him happy. "It'll be fun! Except for the fact that we have Mr Humble..." All the guys moaned at the mention of his name.

Then Sabina came, entering from where he had just come from a couple minutes ago.

"Oh, you're already here." She said.

"Looks like it, doesn't it." Alex responded sarcastically. Sabina huffed jokily and laughed. He seemed to be doing okay, she thought. And he already knew to come to her if he needed anything. She decided not to remind him as it may sound a tad embarrassing, so she just smiled and left.

As Mr Humble walked out of the classroom, everybody quickly got into a straight line, next to the wall. He was a tall man, wearing a suit. For some reason, he instantly reminded Alex of the American President. He acted as though he reined authority. He acted as though he should be respected. Everyone went silent as he began to walk down the line, checking if anyone was talking or misbehaving or lining up incorrectly. As he walked back up, he spoke in a deep voice.

"In class. Now." He stood next to the door and gestured for everybody to go in.

"Take your seats and have your pencil cases out."

**Again, sorry for the long wait guys! I've been busy with homework and I've got a science test to revise for so I probably won't be updating as regularly**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter, despite it being a bit short XD**

**Things will begin to get exciting very soon!**

**:)))**


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